Glen Lyon Ultra
Glen Lyon is often called the longest, loneliest and loveliest glen in Scotland, and this loop gives you its full remote length with barely a building in sight.
Effort: Ultra distance and major ascent
Underfoot: Open fell or rough terrain
E5·T3 — how we grade routesGlen Lyon is often called the longest, loneliest and loveliest glen in Scotland, and this loop gives you its full remote length with barely a building in sight.
A 50.4km circuit deep in Glen Lyon, one of the longest and most remote glens in the Perthshire hills. Big, quiet hill running on estate track and open ground, built around the head of the glen and Loch Lyon.
The route
This is a genuine ultra: 50.4km looping around the head of Glen Lyon and its neighbouring ground, starting from near Loch Lyon at the top of the glen west of Bridge of Balgie. The running is mostly on estate track, hill path and open grassy ground, linking the glen floor with the higher moor and reservoir shoreline. There is real climbing spread across the distance, but the character is long and rolling rather than sharp, a route measured in hours and self-reliance rather than technical difficulty.
The glen
Glen Lyon runs for more than 30 miles through the Perthshire hills, hemmed by Munros and threaded by the River Lyon. It is one of the emptiest places in the southern Highlands, a working estate of red deer, hydro schemes and a scatter of old shielings. Loch Lyon fills the head of the glen behind its dam, and the loop uses the shoreline and the tracks around it to make its circuit. On a clear day the surrounding tops stack up in every direction; in poor weather the glen becomes a serious, committing place.
Why it works
This is a route for experienced hill runners who want distance and solitude. The surface is largely runnable, but the scale, remoteness and lack of shelter make it a full mountain undertaking: carry proper kit, food and the means to navigate, and pick your day. Once you are on the far side of the loch you are a long way from help. The reward is the emptiness itself, a rare chance to run for hours through a landscape that has barely changed in generations. Go in summer for the long daylight, since there is no room for error in the dark this far from the road.
This is remote, committing ground with no shelter and a long way from help once past the loch, so full hill kit, food and navigation are essential. Weather turns fast in the glen. Deer stalking affects the estate in autumn.
Safety on this route
- No signal? Text 999 — pre-register first: text register to 999
- Tell someone your route and expected return time before you head out
Leave No Trace
- Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but memories.
- Please respect the countryside and all its inhabitants.
- Dogs on leads near livestock, and around ground-nesting birds from March to July.
- Gates as you find them — open or closed, leave it that way for the farmer and the next runner.
- Take it all home — wrappers, peel, tissue, the lot. It doesn't count as biodegradable if you can still see it.
- Stick to the path where the ground either side is wet, planted, or nesting habitat.
Common questions
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